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I am new to reloading, I have a classic Lee 3 hole turret press and cannot figure out the placement of the dies. What order do the dies go in? What are the required pieces to resize and crimp the new bullet? And how are the primers placed into the new shells?
Thanks, Kaiden Lemken
Read the manual......
The learning curve you are about to experience is very steep, lot's of detail is left out of manuals (deliberately) and you'll have to experience it to understand what is talked about on this and other forums. IMOP, starting out with a turret press is sure-fire formula for frustration and failure as it will probably take years to learn how to use a single stage press properly, and possibly longer even if you only load one or two calibers.
The press is only the beginning of your investment. Think of it as the opening of the very deep rabbit hole you're about to willingly leap into. There are so many critical steps you'll need to learn and understand, when to apply and when not, and trying to incorporate that into a 3 stage press is quite a challenge for a new hand loader.
I would recommend you start out by using the press as a single stage, that is use only one die at time. Learn how to set up properly once you've learned what "proper" is.
There are many options in hand loading that are dependent upon what exactly you expect to accomplish, so tell us a little about what you are loading, what expectations you have and what equipment you've purchased such as dies, measuring tools, gages, cleaning and prep tools, and what you are loading for as well as what you expect to get out of hand loading. For instance, if you're expecting to be able to make cheap plinking ammo, it'll take years to recover your investment while only saving a few pennies on each round by loading your own.
If you seek precision, you are still years away from consistently loading ammo that'll shoot as well as off the shelf match ammo such as relatively inexpensive Federal Gold Medal Match.
But if you're looking to learn a new skill and develop it well enough to shoot competitively with your own hand loads, and experience firsthand the valuable gain in self confidence that comes with it, I suggest you up your membership status so you have access to all the benefits offered here, sit down, strap in and start reading. Everything you need to know has been discussed here before, use the search feature to find answers, and be prepared to spend lot's of your hard earned dollars.
Good luck, and happy shooting.
Agreed with what everyone has advised. If you have a shooting buddy who owns and use,s a Lee 3 hole progressive then it would be extremely helpful if he could show you 1st hand.
I believe you can find videos on YouTube as well.
Much of what you need to know will not be the manuel. I keep it simple, For a rifle brass use a seperate turret plate for resizing, I have a full resizing die and a collet die on the same plate.
Cleaning, resizing, trimming, inspection and preparation of the brass I consider as the most importment part of reloading both for accuracy and safety. Spend a few bucks on a accurate caliper, a lock and load comparator to check the shoulder length. A Lyman Case length/Headspace gauge. None of these are very pricey but will really help you make safe brass.
A Lee handheld priming tool is the best, the press mounted one sucks.
First on your turret would be the Lee pass through powder die. The Lee Perfect powder measure will mount to the pass through die. Stay away from the Lock and load untill you become very good at dropping a accurate load of powder.
Next goes the Dead Length Bullet seating die. You will find that measuring the over all length will show some different length,just a couple of thousands, this is because the die is sizing off the ogive, so don't cuss and trash the die, it is working correctly.
Next is the crimping die, crimp very lightly for an AR because of the slam, I don't crimp at all for my bolt gun.
Measure carefully, follow load manuals, start with lower loads. Be safe.
Make a lot of them shoot a lot.
Some others may have different ideas but this is how I learned.
Pistol guys can better guide you on pistol loads.
I forgot to say Lube the brass before sizing. I use one Hornady One Shot . The Lee does work but makes a mess, and you have to clean your sizing die real often.
Is this the progressive or the standard three hole turret press? I wouldn't recommend starting out in progressive mode for a rookie.
I feel it’s the turret press you’re missing parts.
You should have the primer tray that hangs and places the primer in the cup,ready to be pressed in.
Before you do ANYTHING buy the “Lee Book of Modern Reloading volume 2”. Its the most complete,comprehensive instructional ive read,and I’ve read them all from every brand and manufacturer that publishes one.
Buy,read and most importantly UNDERSTAND everything the book teaches you.
If you read that instructional you have every answer to every potential reloading question possible.
The sizing die will decap and size the cases.
The bullet seating die will seat the bullets and put the desired crimp.
Instructions for using Lee dies in a Lee press come with the dies, and they typically set up a little different than some other brands as Lee presses don't cam over.
You'll probably also need a hand priming tool. Sure makes things easier.
If you're just getting started I highly recommend that you read modern reloading by Richard Lee. As a matter of fact read the how to part twice. Everything you need to know about how to handload and a great place to start. Also has information specific to Lee equipment. Don't worry that the book looks so thick because most of it is load data. The portion that teaches you to reload is not that much but thorough enough to get you safely cranking out cartridges. It's how I learned many many years ago.
It's just what you need. In a world of bad information this is good stuff and will keep you safe.
Good luck BHJ